Lover's vine
by comeroundsoon
Summary: The Kadespina, also known as 'Lover's Vine' is a plant that physically binds people together, all in the name of love. Guess which two enemies are its next target?
1. Kismet

Rose Weasley was walking along the corridor to her next class. In a span of ten minutes, fifteen people had knocked into her. They stared AROUND her with glassy eyes when she said sorry each time. Rose wouldn't have minded as much apart from how her cousin, Lily had knocked into her and screamed, "Watch where you're.." stopped and then walked off in a daze. Rose couldn't understand what was going on till she tried to rub her eyes and couldn't see her hands.

Malfoy. She thought, spitting out the name in her head with disgust. She headed into the nearest bathroom and undid the disillusionment charm, wondering why she didn't realise that the "pronounced shiver" she experienced earlier was actually the sign that the charm had taken place. Scrutinising her reflection like any other girl her age, Rose sighed when she looked at herself. She had the Weasley hair and a few freckles that were only limited to her cheeks, of which she was extremely thankful for. Her size (courtesy of Grandma Molly) often gave her the appearance of being on the large side, which usually made her the guy's best friend instead of the girlfriend. She wished she was smaller. With a sigh, Rose headed to her next class, Herbology, plotting her revenge on her greatest enemy in Hogwarts. Apparently Uncle Harry had detested Malfoy's father in his time. Rose didn't mind the comparison; Uncle Harry was the best person she could have been compared to, what with all the incredible tales of his childhood. Thankfully she and Malfoy only sought to annoy, inconvenience and embarrass each other. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she hurt another person intentionally, even if it was Malfoy. She could only hope that Malfoy felt the same way. If it were really intense hatred like Uncle Harry and Draco Malfoy, she didn't think she would still be alive now.

In Herbology, she waited for the class to assemble before taking a careful aim and muttered a spell, just before Professor Longbottom told them to settle down. The next thing everyone knew, Malfoy was bestowed with a foot long purple Mohawk that would last for at least ten minutes before it was allowed to be transfigured back, instead of the signature blond Malfoy hair. The entire class burst into a peal of laughter, even Professor Longbottom couldn't hide his grin.

"Nice one, Rosie." said Al from beside her. This was one of the few classes that she and Al had together and she was always glad to have him around. She grinned at him and then launched into a complaint of the latest trick Malfoy had played on her.

A daring Gryffindor who was never without his camera, Royce Watson, managed to snap a picture of Malfoy with his new hair. Rose was fairly pleased of her handiwork till Malfoy glared at her and bewitched a paper aeroplane fly her way.

Get outside after class, Weasel. Greenhouse five. We'll settle this once and for all.

Scorpius Malfoy.

Rose snorted and crumpled the paper. These head on duels only occurred when either she or Malfoy had reached the other person's limit. Apparently getting rid of his precious blond hair was enough to warrant a duel. Yep this was her day to day life. School, playing pranks and aggravating Scorpius Malfoy. She thought back again to uncle Harry and how he had defeated Voldemort at the same age she was now and heaved a sigh. Here she was, Rose Weasley, who was nothing. How ironic. She often felt like she had inherited the worst traits from her family: her father's temper, her mother's fear of flying, her father's distaste of studying, Uncle George's troublemaking, Grandma Molly's size... If there was anything good about her, it would be that she was nice. Hmph. Nice. What a creative talent, she thought, as Professor Longbottom carried on talking animatedly. She didn't bother to listen especially when she was feeling so insecure about herself. Anyway, Al could help her with whatever it was.

Today, they were supposed to be slicing off petals of the Blosrec flower. It looked more like a clown than a flower to Rose, with its white petals, blood red centre and a jagged line at the bottom that could be mistaken for a mouth. Rose hated clowns ever since her dad had taken Hugo and her to a muggle theme park where a clown jumped out and scared her. Naturally, she left all the work to Al, who was pleased for more practice while Rose wondered how she would pass her NEWTs at the end of the year, with her lack of interest in studying.

It was too soon before class was over. Rose waved Al off, saying that she had a score to settle and headed in the direction of greenhouse five. There were five greenhouses in Hogwarts now, as compared to only three in her parents' time. The students were never allowed to use the last two. Apparently it housed strange and exotic plants. Rose didn't care, she never liked Herbology very much anyway but it was one of the few she didn't hate in comparison to something like Ancient Runes. Rose shuddered as she thought about her mother reminiscing fondly about (of all things) Ancient Runes when she had to choose subjects in her second year.

She found Malfoy standing stock still on an empty patch of land next to the greenhouse. He was looking down to the valley below, at the lake. The sun's rays reflected on the surface, making the ripples sparkle. Just then, the Giant Squid raised a tentacle out of the river and hurled an object onto the land. A Hinkypuff, she thought, recognising it from Defence Against the Dark Arts. Her focus then turned to Malfoy who looked like an angel with his blond hair and the way the wind blew his robes, though she would never admit that she ever thought Malfoy could look that way. It was probably because she rarely saw him in the sun except during classes which were held in the grounds and Quidditch matches. He looked so much better without that perpetual sneer he wore around her- whoa whoa back it up Malfoy does not look anything close to good! She thought harshly and cleared her throat.

Malfoy spun around lazily.

"About time, Weasel. I was about to go looking for you to suggest that you roll here instead of walk. It would probably be much faster."

Rose felt her cheeks turn red at the mention of her size. She wisely ignored his comment and positioned herself, then aimed a stunning spell at him. Malfoy blocked it easily and returned a body bind spell. On and on they went, blocking and casting spells at each other. There was so much chaos that when the window of the greenhouse shattered, neither of them knew who was responsible.

Before they could say a word, a huge green vine of about five metres long came snaking out at lightning speed towards them. The vine encircled their wrists, left for Malfoy and right for Rose, then disappeared. Rose could still feel it on her arm though, like a squishy handcuff. She could feel it and touch it but she just couldn't see it.

"Weasel! What is this bullshit?" Malfoy shouted.

"Now I'm supposed to know everything? I didn't smash the stupid glass you idiot!" She screamed back.

"Oh it fell off by itself, did it?"

"It could have been YOU for all we know! Will you quit shouting at me for once and figure out how to get this plant off first?" Rose retorted, glad that the was the first to regain her composure.

They attempted to prise the vine off their wrists but it was difficult considering how they couldn't see it. They tried blasting, cutting, hexing and every single spell they could think of but to no avail. Out of curiosity Rose trailed the length of the vine and found out that it connected to Malfoy's wrist. She gulped. She disliked the vine even more than she possibly thought she could. Meanwhile, Malfoy set about repairing the greenhouse lest any more plants tried to attack them.

They decided to head to Professor Longbottom. If anyone knew the answer to this strange vine, it would be him. Luckily for her Malfoy was silent on the way to the Professor's office. One more word from him and she would be ready to box his head out.

Professor Longbottom was not happy to see them. He was bordering on disapproval when Rose asked him how they could get the stupid thing off. Apparently he didn't realise that he had stupid plants, Rose thought.

"From what I've gathered," said Longbottom after ten minutes of flipping through thick and dusty books, "the invisible plant that is currently around your wrists is known as the Kadespina."

"That's very helpful." Malfoy drawled.

Longbottom ignored him. "The Kadespina was invented by an Italian witch, Kadespina Odre. She was the best Herbologist in Italy and dreamed of creating a plant that could connect two souls that are suitably matched for each other. She succeeded, when she introduced the Kadespina to the world in 2002". At this point, Malfoy and Rose were sporting equal looks of horror.

"The Kadespina is called the plant of true love. It's er, victims, will have to fall in love in order to remove the bond, or be physically tied to each other for the rest of their lives.

Oh crap, why me. 


	2. Tricks

**I'm still quite new to FanFiction so... I don't really know how author's notes and stuff works. But I don't own this story in any way yada yada yada. More legal stuff here. Anyway. Sorry for the delay. I will try to update this story every week. Please review and tell me what you think!**

"Oh," Longbottom continued, "the Kadespina would cease to affect one if both parties are able to find true love with someone else other than the one he or she is connected to. It is best to break the connection early because the longer it continues, the stronger the connection will be between the two parties involved."

"I'm guessing neither of you have found love?" Longbottom said, barely hiding a grin while glancing at Rose.

Rose sighed. She had always been teased about not having a boyfriend at seventeen. She felt a little like her mother when her father didn't think about her mother as a girl till they were fourteen. Then again, she was seventeen. So lost in thought she was that she didn't hear Malfoy's snigger when Longbottom teased her. It was known throughout the school that Malfoy was a player. There was a joke of how he changed girls faster than he changed clothes but somehow it didn't deter the girls who kept throwing themselves at him.

"What on earth is such an infernal plant doing in Hogwarts?" Malfoy suddenly said, bringing Rose to the present with a little jump.

Longbottom's face turned beet red. "Well Malfoy, the school- or rather I, have had a special interest in Herbology which encouraged me to find every single plant species known to wizards and grow them in Hogwarts. I was curious about this plant and well, I brought it here."

"You never thought of what it might do to the students? How typical. Wait till my father-"

"That's enough, Malfoy," said Longbottom hurriedly, "I'll take you to see Professor McGonagall now. With the state you two are in, a new set of arrangements have to be made."

Professor Longbottom led them up a set of winding stairs, guarded by two stone gargoyles which allowed them to pass when he said "tabby cat". In the circular room above, sat Professor McGonagall. She looked at them with a stern expression as professor Longbottom related what the Kadespina's connection entailed.

"Is there any other way to remove the plant?" McGonagall asked, her eyebrows raised.

"No Professor. Kadespina designed it such that the only way to remove it would be with love."

McGonagall snorted, which shocked Rose. She honestly thought McGonagall had worn her "stern face" for so long till she was incapable of any other expression. "True love," McGonagall muttered, "Ha!"

After that, she put her stern face back on and ordered the two of them to pack their things from their common rooms and move to an empty room that was usually reserved for guests visiting the school.

Professor Longbottom escorted them down to the Great Hall, rambling on and on about Herbology such that Rose was sure she would lose her cool and tell him to shut up if he carried on. She had absolutely no interest in knowing that the leaves of the Reesque could absorb nutrients by putting a thin straw like pipe directly onto it. What USE was it of anyway? The only thing the Reesque even did was tremble when bad weather was approaching, as far as she knew. The person who discovered the Reesque must have tried to give it some badass risky name in order to make up for it's apparent lack of it.

"Off you go now you two, back to your common rooms!" Rose grudgingly started heading back to the Gryffindor tower, cursing the Reesque in her mind when suddenly, she was pulled back like an elastic band.

"What the f-" she heard Malfoy shout as she collided into him.

"OUCH!" They yelled, creating such a commotion that a group of third year Hufflepuffs turned and stared.

"What is your problem Malfoy? Can't watch where you're going?" Rose shouted, glad to have the upper hand.

"Excuse me for not being able to see where you were going, Weasel!"

"Well you still could have looked, couldn't you!"

"Oh I'm sure, especially since my eyes grow at the back of my head!" Malfoy retorted.

Lost for words, Rose sneered at him but imagining Malfoy with eyes at the back of his head made it hard to keep her face composed. The two of them bickered even more before deciding on a game of rock paper scissors to determine which common room they should go to first. Rose was determined that she would not step into the Slytherin common room first. She would figuratively die before she did.

Rose stomped her way into the Slytherin common room as Malfoy gloated the way he did, every time he had his way. Their three round of rock paper scissors had gone terribly wrong, it was like Malfoy could read her mind and won all three. They had barely made it three steps into the common room when Malfoy was surrounded by a group of girls, all chattering away, asking why was there a Weasel in their common room to whether Malfoy was under evil weasel's love potion. Ha, it rhymed. Rose thought. Evil weasel. It had quite a nice ring to it. Maybe they do have some brains after all.

"Well you see, my dears," Malfoy began, only to be interrupted by a collective sigh from mesmerised girls all overjoyed at being called 'dear'. "I am under a trap- Quiet." He said as the girls started tittering away. "This trap does not allow me to leave Weasel over here for more than... Seven metres, would you say?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at Rose. She nodded grimly. "It's here, right between us but you can't see it." Malfoy continued. "Anyway, don't spread this I'll only get more displeased if you meddle with this. Weasel here's giving me quite a headache already." Rose had her wand raised and was about to curse him when he turned, smirked at her, and walked away from the girls who were now discussing his pitiful plight, dragging Rose along behind him.

"Have you always been surrounded by girls?" Rose blurted out, as soon as they were away. It was too late before she realised that she was attempting a civil conversation with him for the first time in her life. She couldn't, for the life of her, explain what made her do so.

Thankfully, Malfoy didn't notice but rather, cocked his head thoughtfully as he waved his wand to pack stuff into his trunk. "I can't really remember a time when I wasn't, since I stepped into Hogwarts. And since I'm a nice, compassionate man, I didn't fancy breaking their hearts before they enjoyed some quality time with me."

"Ha!" Rose snorted, "Self sacrifice at its finest isn't it."

Malfoy just smirked at her again as he shrank his trunk and placed it inside his pocked.

* * *

><p>"Scorpius, darling" cried a whiny voice as soon as Scorpius stepped out of the dormitory room. "The girls and I have decided that we will not let you be alone with the thing and one of us will sacrifice a day to accompany you!" Scorpius raised his eyebrows and put a finger to her lips.<p>

"Hush now my dear," Scorpius said, trailing his fingers across her lips. It disgusted him to have to resort to such measures but it worked wonders all the time. As expected, the whiny girl, Zen or something, he couldn't quite remember, blushed and batted her eyelashes at him. All Scorpius could do was projectile vomit mentally. Zen-girl-or-other was the worst of all. She had a large nose that stuck out such that her nostrils were permanently flared and her skin had an odd pinkish tinge. She was plump too, which gave him the impression that he was talking to a pig most of the time. If the Umbridge of his father's time looked like a toad, Zen was surely a pig. He wondered if she transfigured her skin to make it resemble a pig's.

"Frankly, love, I'm quite offended that you think I wouldn't be able to handle myself." Scorpius said, with as much disdain that he could muster. "I distinctly remember saying that I wouldn't take it kindly if you interfered. Now go. The rest of you, you know who is to blame." He put two fingers up to his temple, as if suffering from a headache, and swept out of the common room, motioning for Weasley to get up and follow him.

While they were walking along the corridor in silence, Weasley tripped and landed on her face. "Owwww," she said, somewhere among the mess of red hair that was splayed across the ground. Scorpius snorted. Weasley was known for her accidents throughout the school. She wasn't forgetful like Professor Longbottom, but she was always occupied with something else that she didn't realise the people around her. People learnt to keep a wide berth from her when she wasn't talking to them due to her animated gestures that made "I'm sorry!" to passing strangers the main topic of conversation.

He held out a hand to help her up instinctively, which shocked the both of them. Before he had the chance to retract, she quickly grasped onto it, as if she knew what he was thinking.

Shit, the plant. He thought. It was already starting to work its bond on the both of them. This was very bad. By the end of next week he would probably know Weasley back to front, which was something he never wanted to experience. Though she was much more pleasant than Zen, he added grudgingly but he would never admit to it.

"What made you trip?" he asked, to diffuse the awkwardness that was brewing between them.

"This stupid vine," she said, gesturing wildly to the space between them, "Wherever that bloody thing is." By now they had already made it to the Great Hall.

"Tripped cause of the vine, did you say?" he asked her again, with an evil glint in his eye.

She smirked in return, catching on fast enough to what he was saying. "Who's our next target?" She replied as she spun round to survey the area around them. Scorpius looked around but his mind wasn't on looking for a person, but rather how fast she understood what he meant. This was one of the things that made it less awful about being stuck with Weasley- she was always up for tricks.

"What about that Hufflepuff? I don't like him. He's always bossing me around and laughing at me. I'm older than him!" Weasley stated, huffing indignantly, while looking at a Hufflepuff sixth year, Mark Taylor, who was indeed bossy. Scorpius couldn't stand him either but shrugged and replied, "He's not better looking than me. I don't have anything against him." As he expected, his reply made her turn on him on to argue with him. However this time she stopped short and walked away to position herself behind a wall to wait for Taylor. Scorpius positioned himself on the other side, raised his right arm, and the next thing they knew, Taylor fell over with a, "YEARGH!"

Weasley ran over to Taylor with a look of mock concern on her face and burst into maniacal laughter. "Oh Mark! How did you trip? You poor thing, it was such a bad fall wasn't it? To think you tripped... over nothing! Hey Scorpius, come and take a look at poor Mark! Oh he scraped his knee! Well Mark, if you were less unkind to me all this time, I would help you heal it but sadly I can't. I'm late to feed my nonexistent owl. Hoot hoot woot!" Weasley shrieked and ran off, pulling Scorpius along behind her, leaving Taylor staring in disbelief at the both of them.

By the time Weasley stopped, after tripping over four more students on purpose, it was near one of the towers at the top of a wing that Scorpius had never ventured to. She was grinning like a Cheshire cat as she wiggled her eyebrows at Scorpius. "Was I awesome or was I awesome?" She asked, dragging the vowel 'e' till she was out of breath. Scorpius swore that she was made for drama. "Not bad," he relented. "Are you always this much of a bitch?" he added, to be safe, in case she realised he was being friendlier than he should have.

Weasley's smile fell for a split second, but brightened up immediately. "Yep, always!" She returned, proudly, though her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Scorpius couldn't tell if it was his imagination that made him over think or not.

"Pickles", Weasley said, and the portrait of a fat lady swung open to reveal a common room door. Scorpius was about to ask how on earth was pickles related to Gryffindor when a hand grabbed him by his neck and shoved him against the wall.


	3. Understanding

**Sorry for the delay again. I didn't really know how I wanted to shape the story. Quick question. I found some grammatical/vocab whatever senseless mistakes in the previous chapter. Is there any way I can correct these mistakes without alerting those who have subscribed to this story? Please review!**

"What on earth is filth like this doing here?" growled Jason Ames, a seventh year prefect.

Malfoy looked affronted and remarked, "is this about the time I rejected your advances on me?" The whole room gasped in unison. Jason was just about to reach for his wand when Rose interjected, "hey no wait! It's alright! He's with me!" She then proceeded to explain the predicament that the two of them had gotten into. Albus started laughing like a hyena as soon as he realised that they would have to fall in love with each other or someone else.

"Hey Rosie!" Albus shouted. "want to fall in love with me?" he puckered his lips and made kissy noises in her direction. Rose aimed her wand and transfigured his mouth into a duck's beak. Albus's face went beet red as he quacked away in search of Lily to help transfigure him back.

After much hasty packing, the two made it out of the Gryffindor common room. It was quite tricky to get the both of them up the stairs, owing how guys were not allowed up the girl's dormitory stairs due to an old tradition. They ended up levitating themselves up the stairs. It was a weird experience to be floating on nothing, Rose thought. Malfoy had been silent this whole time, frowning slightly at something Rose neither cared nor bothered to ask about.

Once they headed out the common room, Malfoy stopped in his tracks and looked at the fat lady.

"Why on earth is the Gryffindor's password called pickles?" he demanded, staring at the fat lady. "I've been thinking about the history of Godric Gryffindor the entire time and every artifact in the common room and nothing, absolutely nothing shows reference to bloody pickles."

The fat lady gave a giggle, "oh no, pickles is the name of my niffler in the painting over there" she said, pointing to her right where a niffler was tearing the silvery and glittery clothes off a woman who was screaming in terror and trying to escape it. The fat lady then launched into a story about pickles the niffler which dated back to the 1600s. "Pickles has gone through many names. First he was called black, then dog. But the owners realised that every dog was called dog and pickles was not a dog. One day he was caught eating turkey by the neighbours. They called him turkey stealer. But he was actually taking it because his owner was starving..."

"that is an amazing story but so sorry no offense we gotta go!" Malfoy cried hurriedly and pulled Rose away.

"How long more does that crap go on for?" he asked Rose as soon as they were out of the Fat Lady's sight.

"Oh for another twenty minutes in which she describes pickles in vivid detail and the twenty other names he had. Pickles has nothing to do with Gryffindor. Most of our passwords don't. The Fat Lady invents passwords at whim. There was once, the password was "you are amazing" just cause she wanted people to tell her that. She would shriek, blush and say "oh you tease" before letting us in. Didn't matter if you were a guy or a girl."

Malfoy snorted. "Thick skinned, that one."

They walked in silence, well as much silence as it was possible since Rose tripped twice more over the vine and knocked into a stone bench which made her curse and scream the rest of the way back to a room they had been assigned to by McGonagall. It was an empty room for guests of Hogwarts but of course, the house elves had kept the place in excellent condition.

The Walls were the usual Grey stone but the elves had gone the extra mile to hang draperies and fill the room with colours of green and silver, and red and gold. It blended quite well, actually. There was a small sitting room, with two couches and complete with a coffee table and fireplace. The beds were in a room behind, each one decorated in the respective house colours, opposite two study desks which faced the wall. There were even wardrobes, right next to the beds, one on each side. Through a brown door, it was the washroom. There was a bathtub with a shower screen decorated with the Hogwarts crest. It faced a wide mirror with a singular White sink while the toilet stood at the furthest end of the space.

"Not bad huh," Rose remarked.

"Ha. Obviously it's nothing compared to the manor but I guess it will do." Malfoy replied, staring at the space around them with a look of mild disdain on his face.

"It must be nice, isn't it, to be able to lead such a luxurious life. Like how my room is about this size." Rose mumbled, more to herself than to Malfoy. She had always wondered how nice it would be, to be free of monetary constraints, to be able to obtain any luxury that she wanted. "Looks like you're living my dream" she smiled wistfully at Malfoy who seemed to be spaced out.

"Earth to Malfoy? Hello? Whatever I'm going to bed now," it was lucky that their room wasn't extremely large. She could move around in ease without needing Malfoy to move as well because of the wretched vine that even resulted in their predicament. She set about displaying all her things around their room. She honestly couldn't care less if Malfoy objected to her decorations. She loved designing places, which was part of the reason why she envied Malfoy so much. She would have the time of her life if she could design his house. A manor was bound to have many rooms.

Goodnight!" she yelled into Malfoy's ear half an hour later. He got shocked, transfigured her skin blue and continued his zombie movements like he had been doing so for the past half an hour. The only time he had shown any response was to gape as he saw Rose in her pyjamas which were an oversized tee shirt and shorts. Rose didn't realise that shirts and shorts were too revealing for Mr Flirt but she wasn't about to change anything for him. Perhaps it showed off her fats, she thought as she admired herself in the mirror in the bathroom. She looked like a bloody smurf. Or characters from that muggle show Avatar. Thanks to her mother, Rose had plenty of knowledge and exposure to muggles. She decided that she might as well enjoy being blue once in her life and went to sleep like that. The last thing she remembered was how sad it wasn't Monday the next day or she could have literal Monday blues.

* * *

><p>Scorpius walked around in a daze, arranging his items on the shelves and wardrobe. He was still in shock about what Weasley had said. He knew that most people weren't as rich as him, but never had he known someone remotely poor. The Slytherins were always trying to flaunt their wealth in front of him. Never had they admitted to being middle class, which was exactly what Weasley had done. It felt so surreal, to realise that not everyone was as fortunate as him. He didn't think many people could understand. The worst part was that look of longing in her eyes when she told him about her dream. For the first time, he felt awful that they led such different lives. It didn't seem like something to be proud of anymore. He chanced a glance at Weasley, still blue, splayed out and sleeping on her front. She was wearing an oversized shirt and mid-thigh shorts. He had never seen a girl dressed like that. Every girl he had ever known had also learnt the "shorter is better" motto and had slept with body hugging spaghetti tank tops and barely there shorts. Even Zen did, which was an occasion he wished he didn't remember.<p>

His thoughts were brought back by movement from the blue thing in the next bed. He suddenly felt like he was much closer to her and that she was beginning to seem like a three dimensional figure to him, instead of the one dimensional character she had been for the past seven years- merely a source of entertainment. He didn't realise that her mind actually worked, what with her abysmal grades and her simplistic mind. Bloody vine. He tugged at the invisible rope to no avail. Kadespina had better thank her lucky stars that she was already dead or he'd be after her now.

He though he was quite the opposite of her. He was always striving to be the best. He had it in monetary terms which left schoolwork and quidditch which he excelled in as well. Girls came naturally and of course, he took advantage of that fact. So since they were so different, how could he possibly be stuck to someone like her, was the question he wondered off before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p>"ROSE WEASLEY! YOU COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW I'M WARNING YOU BEFORE I GO INSIDE!"<p>

Rose's eyes shot open as she scrambled out of bed to that familiar voice. There was a strange force that kept her from moving forward, like she was in a dream but the voice terrified her more such that she ran out into the sitting room. There was a loud thud, then someone shouted "WEASLEY!" from inside the room, at the same time her livid father screamed his lungs out in the sitting room. Apparently she had just dragged Malfoy out of bed. After their first night together. Oh god that sounded like they had sex.

"ARGH! WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS?" Ron shouted at Rose, which was when she remembered she still looked like smurfette.

Hermione waved her wand and soon, Rose was back to normal but this didn't help Ron who was heaving like a wounded animal. Uncle Harry was standing at the corner, stifling his laughter at the sight of her father's face. "Learnt how to understand girls already, Ron?" Uncle Harry managed to gasp out in between his laughter. Her father glared at Uncle Harry but then rounded on her for an explanation.

Rose then repeated the story of Kadespina, the plant, and how she and Malfoy were trapped till they fell in love. Ron's face turned purple at the mention of the word love and stormed out of the room, shouting, "NEVILLE!"

Hermione looked at her husband and sighed, "It's alright, sweetheart. Yes, the anger management class failed." and glanced up. Malfoy had exited the bedroom and looked thoroughly pissed off. He greeted Mrs Weasley and Mr Potter, then glared openly at Rose.

Uncle Harry started examining the space between her and Malfoy and picked up the vine once he realised where it was. He chuckled. "True love eh, Hermione? Sounds like Dumbledore's idea of a joke to me. But anyway I think we should have a talk with McGonagall. You two stay here."

Rose snorted and gave an imperceptible nod. After the two of them had left, she immediately disillusionised the still scowling Malfoy and herself, silencing Malfoy with a silencing charm and bounded after them, determined to hear what the adults had to say.


	4. Wrong words

**I'm sorry for being the biggest procrastinator ever. Next chapter up in a few days... if y'all still like the story that is.**

"Do not think we don't know you're there just cause you're disillusionised!" One gargoyle yelled as Rose attempted to run past it. She and Scorpius were then hurled backwards onto the stone floor behind.

"What's up with you Weasley? First thing in the morning and I get pulled out of bed, listen to your family affairs which I have no interest in and now this? If this goes on one more day I swear I'll hex you and it won't be anything as simple as the crap we've set on each other the past few years."

"It's not like I wanted it to turn out this way but whatever shut up! Tabby cat!" The gargoyles parted.

Up the winding staircase and the two of them could hear Ron's voice loud and clear.

"WHAT LOVE? She's only seventeen for God's sake! Neville you'd better find out a way to get rid of it, she will NOT be stuck to that Malfoy boy for the rest of her life!"

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat delicately. "Perhaps now is a good time to remind you, Mr Weasley, of how you and Ms Granger had romantic notions when you were the exact same age as your daughter now."

"But... But it's different!" Ron sputtered, lost for words.

"And how so? Haven't you and Ms Granger been very happy this whole time? Unless you do not want the same for your daughter?"

Rose thought that she had better remember every single word McGonagall was saying. She had only ever known her mother to be able to make her father lost for words. She had Hugo had always failed when faced with the "I am your father" line. Cue star wars theme song, she thought.

More debate between the adults continued, which mainly revolved around how McGonagall was snooping around in her students' personal lives. Malfoy got bored after fifteen minutes of it and left. Rose had no choice but to follow.

* * *

><p>Their classes had been rearranged such that none of them were to overlap with each other. After bickering all the way back to their room, they changed and headed down to breakfast.<p>

Well isn't this awkward, Rose thought as she was stuck in between her group of friends and Malfoy's entourage of girls. Malfoy and her were sitting side by side, for reasons unknown to her. It just became more instinctive to be next to him and it was just one day! Oh Merlin help me, she thought as she looked up at the enchanted ceiling like Merlin would really be there.

The girls chatted away, sounding like an army of annoying flies that Rose wanted to swat. Why on earth did she care about who made out with who and which slut wore what, urgh. Malfoy on the other hand, seemed to be staring at them with a look of amusement on his face. Bloody mindless idiot. He was probably thinking of all sorts of dirty thoughts his mind could come up with.

On Rose's side of the table sat her own group, consisting of a few of her friends: Dave Lavire, Linus Westwood, Jared Foster, Gabriel Bennington, Daniel Howard, just to name a few of those in her clique, joined occasionally by her cousins, mainly Al and Louis. It was tough trying to come to a decision on where to sit and eventually she and Malfoy settled for either one of the two tables each day. Today Malfoy had gotten the upper hand, literally, as their basis of judgement was by muggle arm wrestling. Who knew Malfoy had muscles?

It was due to this that Rose and her friends were surrounded by a table full of Slytherins who all seemed to make it their life ambition to sneer each other to death. The guys were currently discussing the latest match between the Holyhead Harpies and Puddlemere United. All Rose cared was about the score so she didn't bother to join in.

She glanced around at the Slytherins, caught the eye of one guy and without thinking, she beamed at him, perfect smile and all. He pointed his wand at her and before she could react, boils were forming all over her skin, growing to the size of galleons and bursting, showing the red, raw skin underneath.

All eyes which were engaged in their own conversations before this, now shifted to Rose, who was gasping each time a boil erupted. Eyes stinging in pain, she did not realise much was going on, except that she had her arm slung around someone's shoulder which was too much to bear as there were boils forming on her arms too. She could smell the sickly odour of pus emanating from her body. She chanced a glance at one arm and to her utter horror, new boils were forming over the raw skin. Soon she would be stripped down to the bone if this continued, she thought. Then the world turned black.

* * *

><p>Rose opened her eyes to see five concerned faces peering down at hers.<p>

"THE GIRL WHO LIVED!" Daniel exclaimed, looking at her face in mock wonder.

Rose snorted, wincing as she struggled to an upright position. "What happened?" she croaked.

The guys launched into a garbled story about how they took down the whole of Slytherin house with just their handsome looks alone and made everyone beg at their mercy and forgiveness. Malfoy chose this time to make his presence known and yawned loudly.

"But no, Rosie" Al said, "We were good handsome folk. All we wanted was Proler, the one you stupidly smiled at. What were you thinking, Rosie?" He slapped Rose's head. "So he came forward and look there he is, in the bed over there." He gestured to a bed in the far corner of the Hospital Wing.

Madam Pomfrey came over to her bed just then and started fussing around Rose, shooing the guys away. After half an hour, she decided that Rose was good to go and ordered Scorpius to help her to the Great Hall, just in time for lunch.

"What a remarkable first day! So much action! Ha! Hyak!" she shouted at the empty corridor as she struck various karate poses. Still sore from all her boils, she promptly crashed to the ground.

She caught him staring down at her in amusement and disbelief. "Are you trying to imitate some animal?" he asked, then walked away. Rose scrambled up in an instant as she knew the alternative was being dragged on the ground.

"Okay okay! I'm sorry! I won't be so childish anymore alright! But you should watch more muggle shows! They teach you a lot!"

He stared at her and sneered, "I have more to learn from flobberworms than muggles."

"No no no! It's all so fascinating, how they've learnt to cope without magic. Do you know that they have even managed to fly? It's something called an aeroplane but they can sit really comfortably like in an armchair unlike us on our brooms."

Scorpius looked mildly surprised and also affronted at this. "Well I guess you can always tell me more". He then dragged her off to an uneventful lunch where Rose kept her eyes on her plate at all times except to look at her friends. She thought about the scene earlier and somehow, she just knew that Scorpius wasn't pleased that she knew more than him, even if it was about muggles. Was it a gut feeling or the effects of the vine?

Their next lesson was potions. Rose hardly even knew why she continued with potions after their fifth year. She has as much aptitude in it as her father. As their teacher droned on, she started on what she always did to pass time in lessons: doodle. Sometimes it was making patterns, sometimes it was drawing. Today she decided to practice her abysmal cursive handwriting.

She started off by doodling her name about twenty times on the piece of parchment then moved on to more difficult words like potions sucks. Bezoar. Ants. Ants. There are no more dragons in Gringotts. I am an angle. Angle. Angel. Angel. Angel. Malfoy is a prick.

Right on cue, her paper disappeared. She glared at the face beside her who had turned back to pay rapt attention to the teacher. Goody two shoes perfect Malfoy. Humourless and senseless, bloody perfectionist... she mumbled, making grotesque faces as she went on describing everything about him that annoyed her.

"Ms Weasley, are you having some sort of a seizure? You look like you're trying to throw up" their teacher, Professor Giovan asked.

"Oh no sir," she said, pulling more faces. "It's this itch see, that I can't scratch." and scrunched up her nose three more times as the class sniggered at her ridiculous expressions.

Professor Giovan, used to Rose's insanity, just turned around and started droning on to the rest of the class.

"Will you pay attention!" Malfoy whispered harshly after Rose gave a big yawn halfway through the lesson.

"What for Malfoy, when there are so many better and closer positions we could be in than just side by side." Rose replied instinctively in her most seductive voice.

Then she realised what she had said.


	5. Poke

**Especially to reppad98 and everyone else who subscribed to this story/reviewed: I know I said a few days, but I went back to read the chapters that I've already uploaded and I absolutely hate what I've written. I think I did an awful job which is why I went back to rewrite this chapter even though I had already finished it. I'm not intending to upload more till I've completed a few more chapters and am satisfied with it. I don't really know what I'm doing (obviously) and I hope you'll give me your opinions as to how I can make this story satisfactory/good. But since a chapter was requested with puppy eyes, there you have it lol. Thanks for sticking around, hope you still do.**

For once, Malfoy was lost for words but Rose didn't have the mental capacity to deal with it just then.

"Oh merlin that was so wrong, I meant to tell you to stuff a sock up your nose!" She shrieked the last part, in a desperate attempt to clarify herself.

Professor Giovan looked at the pair in surprise. "Detention, Ms Weasley, for such rude behavior."

Rose was about to protest, realized something and burst out laughing like a hyena.

"What is so funny?" Malfoy hissed.

"Sir, if you put me in detention, you're putting Malfoy in as well!" Rose exclaimed, with an evil glint in her eye, all the while looking at Malfoy whose jaw had dropped upon realizing what Rose had said. Malfoy had stained his perfect record. She could dance but she would probably trip over some non existent stone on the ground.

Professor Giovan strove to hide his shock when he remembered that the two of them were inseparable by hurriedly saying, "Detention for you too, Mr Malfoy for not keeping Ms Weasley in check and not another word from the both of you!" He said and continued on with the lesson before Malfoy could say a word.

* * *

><p>The next few days passed by without any major event happening except for how Malfoy found Rose's weakness – she was extremely ticklish. It happened once when Malfoy dropped his quill in a lesson, bent down to pick it up and unknowingly (or so Rose assumed it was unknowing), jabbed Rose in the waist. The resultant was a high pitched scream that earned the both of them another detention. From that day on, Malfoy's hands were almost permanently attached at her waist. It wouldn't have been such a sensitive issue if she didn't realize that Malfoy was poking her fats. She wondered if it felt like jelly to him cause it sure did to her. This made her feel like burying her head in embarrassment.<p>

"WILL. YOU. STOP. TICKLING. ME!" Rose shouted on Friday night, after Herbology lesson. They had just entered their room and in her haste to wash off the mud and perspiration that currently clung to her skin, she had rushed into the room ahead of Malfoy, forgetting her rule of standing behind him at all times so that he would not be able to tickle her without giving herself a chance to react beforehand.

"Who's going to stop me, Weasel?" he said, advancing on her like how an animal cornered its prey.

Rose backed up against the foot of her bed, looking at Malfoy with wary eyes the entire time.

"Oh no. Oh no no no no no you don't." She warned him. "I'll scream, I have very big lungs. Rape. I'll yell bloody rape!"

Malfoy smirked, "Well, let's see you try."

Rose tried to process that sentence.

Malfoy lunged.

Rose screamed, and screamed as Malfoy's hands poked, literally poked every inch of her body. She tried moving away but she would fall off the bed if she did so. Malfoy had already grasped both her hands and held it against the bed frame. Rose tried kicking him away too, but Malfoy just dodged her kicks easily. It was quite hard to kick him too, due to how her eyes were scrunched up from laughing most of the time. She was able to see Malfoy, once or twice though. He was looking down at her, loose strands of his hair falling down from the perfectly styled hair he always wore. He had a smile on his face that Rose had never seen before. It really was one of happiness, without the usual sneer or glazed look in his eyes whenever Malfoy even smiled when she was around in the past. It was then Rose was aware of the position she and Malfoy were in. He was to her left, standing at the side of the bed, with one hand above her head to secure her arms and the other hand around the right side of her body. It was absolutely too close for comfort to Rose, but why didn't she want him to go away?

"I… I have no more. No more. Breath. No breath. Can't. Stop. Stop ti-tickling!" Rose announced awhile later, when her voice had gone hoarse from all the screaming. A few more jabs and just like that, Malfoy disappeared into the bathroom. Rose's hand was immediately flung forward as the vine stretched itself between the both of them.

Rose struggled to catch her breath, but her mind kept replaying the scenes earlier, especially the one of Malfoy smiling down at her. She was so tired. Her body was insanely sore from all the pokes. Malfoy's smile really made him look even better than he did, was that possible? Out of breath. Out of breath. His smile. She really should stop thinking about his smile.

"You've only been with him for four days, Rose, four. What makes you think that these four days meant ANYTHING to him? He has had so many girlfriends before, stop it. Stop thinking about him." She said to herself out loud, whacking her palm against her head as she did so.

She was then forcibly reminded of what Professor Longbottom said the very first day, of how their relationship would only get stronger as they continued being attached by the vine. Rose didn't think that was such a good idea, especially since they hardly ever had civil conversations. She could count the number of actual conversations they've had with her hands and when she thought about how she had been stuck with the same person all the time for the past few days, it was quite a pathetic number.

She couldn't really remember anything interesting the past few days, apart from two incidents on Wednesday. Malfoy had the tendency to snore sometimes, which annoyed Rose to a large extent as she was a light sleeper. Out of desperation, she cast a silencing spell on him the night before which obviously didn't help. The next morning, two pretty fifth year girls in barely-there shorts and sleeveless shirts paraded into their room in search of Malfoy. Their tittering woke Rose up and she got a firsthand show to how Malfoy tried to greet them, and failed because he didn't have his voice. He tried to speak a couple more times, noticed Rose sniggering at him, forgot he was still mute and mouthed the word, "WEASLEY" which brought tears to Rose's eyes. The two girls left immediately after realizing Malfoy was positively livid. Rose had to endure half an hour of shouting, which ranged from whether she thought she was being funny and to how he didn't know how she could survive in the world with her lack of tact and respect for others. Some of what he said had actually hurt upon reflection of it, but Rose wasn't about to tell him that of course.

The next incident was downright awful, as the Malfoy family arrived in Hogwarts. They tried everything, including transferring Malfoy to Drumstrang. Then they realized that Rose would have to go to Drumstrang too and finally decided against it. Draco Malfoy was all for putting Kadespina in jail before he was told that Kadespina had already died the year before. House elves and healers were all called in to remove the vine but none of them could do so, as it was Kadespina's intention for it to be irremovable. Rose and Malfoy had to endure an entire day of being examined before Draco and Astoria gave up, warned Scorpius that on no account would he fall for a mudblood (that was Astoria's words) and gave Rose the evil eye before leaving. It would have been fine had they not insisted on having dinner with Scorpius. Rose had to sit all seven metres away as the family dined in the Great Hall. It was a weird experience, seeing them eat. They hardly talked and rarely showed their affection for their son. It was too civilized for a family, too strange and Rose didn't like it at all. Did she mention how they all had PERFECT table manners? That was a little too much for her to handle. She imagined how her family would spend dinner together and knew it would be filled with bickering on her and Hugo's part while her mother attempted to keep everything calm and her father just talked about everything or anything he wanted. Maybe it was just Rose but she felt that was how a proper family should be like.

Rose was brought back to the present by the shower being turned off, which meant that Malfoy would soon be getting out. She was determined not to fall for Malfoy and his perfect smile which led her to think about guys she wouldn't mind dating.

"Leo. Linus. Jon. Dave… who else?" she said, counting them. There were only four. She repeated the names over and over again, trying to see which of them she would go after first. Oh Merlin she felt so desperate but wasn't she? Desperate times called for desperate measures indeed.

It was thus in this state that Malfoy found her, deciding between Linus and Dave.

"What's wrong with Linus and Dave?" he asked her casually.

"Shut up. You're still not forgiven for raping me." She shot back.

" Big ego you have there don't you, to think that I'd want to rape you. Have you taken a look at yourself lately?"

Well, ouch. She thought. Now not only was she dreaming about his smile, he was also rubbing in on how undesirable she was. Too hurt to think of a retort, she stuck out her tongue at him and went to the shower, hating herself for not being skinny like normal girls.

* * *

><p>Saturday came around. It was a Hogsmeade weekend. Rose shoved away all thoughts about her nonexistent self worth as she was woken up by the bloody early riser Malfoy in the morning. Today was the day she would fall in love, she decided.<p> 


	6. It went a little like this

Scorpius was roused by Weasley the next morning. She seemed even more insane than usual which was saying something. As per her routine, she pranced around the room, singing random muggle songs as they both prepared for the day. Over the past few days, he had gotten rather used to her weird antics and if he stretched the limit, he was starting to enjoy having company. It was only last night that he realised this, after he tickled her senseless. He had never smiled till his cheeks hurt in a long time, there was always something holding him back previously, the need to uphold his arrogant character or how disgusting everyone else around him was that he couldn't even smile properly. Yet with Weasley, he didn't need to care about anything. He thought it was probably because her insanity was enough to move attention away from him.

He looked at the girl in front of him, tossing everything out of a drawer because she couldn't find a matching sock. He didn't get why she couldn't just wear another pair. She would drive him nuts someday, but why did it make him smile fondly at the thought of that?

Perhaps being with her wasn't such a bad thing. He felt his problems going away when with her, must be because her life was so screwed up that it made his seem absolutely perfect in conparison... Or maybe it was due to her jovial attitude which was rather infectious. Everyone around her seemed to be in good spirits all the time. Upon reflection, feeling happy was really a perk that he would like to revisit more often though she annoyed the crap out of him sometimes.

The Hogsmeade trip later would be a perfect opportunity for them to get to know each other better without anyone to interfere.

Today, he would try to be her friend.

* * *

><p>Today, she would fall in love, Rose reminded herself.<p>

At seven in the morning, she pulled a chatty Malfoy out of bed, with mussed hair sticking up at odd angles as opposed to his usual well styled hair. She had a weakness for guys who had the out of bed style and here he was, the epitome of the out of bed style. Guys you like, guys you like, she reminded herself hurriedly. She responded his really weird questions vaguely which were things like "what is your favourite colour" and "what do you want to do in future" stuff like that. She couldn't afford to be closer to him than they already were without thinking of his brilliant smile. she seriously had to stop thinking about that bloody smile, it wouldn't do her any good.

She chanced upon Dave while she was in search of either one of the two she had though about the previous night and promptly asked him out. His eyes widened in surprise and Rose realised that it was because Malfoy would be around as well.

"Erm are you sure about that?" Dave said, glancing at Malfoy repeatedly.

"Absolutely. See you later!" Rose replied. Feeling extremely bold, she kissed Dave on the cheek as they said goodbye. Shock registered on his face and he turned to stare at her. This was gone unnoticed by Rose though, who had already pranced away and would have gone further if not for a fuming Malfoy who refuse to budge.

Rose skipped back to Malfoy.

"What's wrong Malfoy?" she asked, blinking her eyes repeatedly, attempting to be cute as she moved nearer to him.

"Did I say it was okay for you to bring one of your mudbloods?" he spat.

"Well you can always bring one of your scorpions, it's not like you've ever bothered to ask me how I feel about them." Rose replied, offended as Dave was certainly no mudblood. "And it's called MUGGLEBORN, Malfoy, get it into your thick head."

Rose couldn't understand what was bloody wrong with Malfoy. He had girls hanging around him all the time. She had gotten so used to it that she didn't even bother registering their presence anymore. They would appear in between classes, at meal times and twice in the mornings to wake him up. Rose hated to wake up early and therefore she hated every single one of them who came in in the morning. They didn't disturb Malfoy at night but Rose doubted that he even felt disturbed by them. She decided to drop it. The more she thought about them, the more sour she felt, like there was something in her chest that she wanted tear out of her.

"If I were a thick head, what would you be? Considering how I get better grades than you in every subject." he snapped

"Okay shut up about that we are not talking about studies now! Just trust me on this and perhaps things will turn out for the better, I promise!"

"You'd better have a darn good explanation for this, Weasel." Malfoy snarled and stomped off.

Dave was waiting for Rose at the entrance hall. Malfoy had decided to bring along two scorpions, a tiny, off-the-rack-wannabe dumb blonde and that blonde had brought along Zen. Oh for the love of Merlin couldn't he be rid of that girl already? She suspected that Malfoy intentionally brought Zen along just to spite Rose.

* * *

><p>The ride in the horseless carriage was traumatic. The girls showered Malfoy with attention, checking him out and screamed when they thought he'd lost weight. Rose had to clamp her fists to stop herself from slapping them and Dave asked her why on earth she was doing this, to which she couldn't give an answer to. How could she tell him that she was trying to fall for him? That wasn't something one admitted to people about, especially when she was forcing herself to do so.<p>

She was already regretting this but what other choice did she have? Just a few more hours to go, she thought, peering out of the window. The skies were a gloomy overcast which Rose took as a premonition for trouble to come.

After the carriage ride, there was still some distance to walk before reaching Hogsmeade. Rose stuck by Dave's side the entire time, engaging in the silly banter that they always did when they were together while Malfoy and his girls walked ahead of them. Dave always had a unique way of seeing the world and life which always cracked Rose up. Today it was about events in the muggle world, as both of them had muggle born parents and were used to news from around the world. There had been two earthquakes in some other country recently and the second one, which came a day after the first had killed only one person as opposed to the first which killed thousands.

"That guy who died was insanely unlucky," Dave said, "Imagine you were him. You thought you survived a big calamity and escaped death. There you are thanking Merlin for letting you live and everything, but all of a sudden, next earthquake comes and bam! You're dead now. The only one too."

Rose snorted. It was times like these that made her forget all her worries, particularly the one where she was strung to Malfoy like a dog on a leash. Despite trying to focus on Dave's jokes, she found herself glancing at Malfoy every time she had an opportunity.

Once they had reached the winding lane of Hogsmeade, Dave excused himself to go somewhere else, he wouldn't say, leaving Rose stuck behind Malfoy and his scorpions.

The trio in front were just about to head into the Three Broomsticks when Rose tugged hard on the invisible vine, sending Malfoy stumbling over to her like a drunkard and falling flat on his face. She would not tolerate being alone with the three of them. Where was Dave anyway? She sniggered at the sight of Malfoy tripping but hewas already two steps ahead of her, as usual.

Malfoy stood up, stumbled even more and slung one arm over Rose's shoulder. "Hi darling," he slurred. "wanna cuddle up -hiccup- up here? It's okay, heh heh I'm not drunk," he slurred. "I'M NOT GODDAMN DRUNK!" he shouted at the crowd which was gathering to watch the spectacle in front of them. His two scorpions quickly backed away when he shouted as Malfoy hardly shouted. Rose realised that he had shouted at her a fair few times since they were stuck together. Was she getting on his nerves? Somehow the idea of it made her extremely self conscious and made her spirits plummet.

"So sweetheart, come here." he rounded on her, his arm still around her shoulder and edged closer such that their bodies were almost pressing against each others. "Just what were you trying to do?" he asked, whispering in her ear, his voice laced with venom as his wand positioned itself at her back, poking slightly to indicate that he would attempt to harm her should she cause even more of a scene. Rose couldn't concentrate. He was too close to her. she knew she should be afraid because she made Malfoy embarrassed in public, not just school which he could wave off but all she could think of was how close they were to each other. She didn't want to be seen in such an intimate position with him in public but her body just refused to listen!

"I, er. I was..." She could feel the body heat emanating off him, felt his breath tickle her neck as he waited for a response from her. "I didn't.." oh Merlin she couldn't even form a coherent sentence when he was this close to her. "Don't want the Three Broomsticks" she squeaked out. Malfoy sighed, then poked her in the ribs.

Rose screamed just as he he let go of her and sauntered off, pointing to Honeydukes and raising one eyebrow at her, questioningly. She nodded meekly and trailed after him. The scorpions, sensing that danger was over, ran to his side, each one grasping one arm only to have him push them both away without a backward glance.

Honeydukes was packed with students. Literally packed to the ceiling. There were a large number of students floating around the ceiling, thanks to the new sweets, "Helium Hoisters, float like a balloon!"

Malfoy ignored Rose as she picked out gift boxes of sweets for friends and family, not daring to look openly at him.

It only dawned on Rose after picking out five boxes that Dave had no idea where they were and was probably roaming the street in search for them. Rose threw all the boxes aside, simply said, "Dave" to Malfoy and walked off. However, there were so many people that Malfoy ended up in front of her, owing to a talent of being able to squeeze past people. It was too snakelike, how fitting or maybe she was just fat. She gave an audible sigh. They were almost out of the shop when a boy ran past Rose, shoving her to the front. At that exact moment, Malfoy who was in front of her, turned around to say something. What it was, Rose would never know. She saw everything play out in slow motion, from the boy's shoving at her back and then Malfoy's face getting closer to hers. Finally, her own gasp of realisation as she fell forward, her lips landing on his before either of them could react.


	7. Violet

**Finally another chapter. I really hope you'd review. Criticism (especially if it's constructive) is better than nothing at all. Thanks for reading.**

They tumbled to the ground in an unsightly fashion, just out of the shop, with Rose above Scorpius. Hands pushed Rose off him roughly and she winced in pain from the impact of the hard ground.

Oh my gosh. We kissed. We freaking kissed. How am I ever going to face him now? All I'll ever be able to think about are his soft lips, stop stop stop! She commanded herself.

"Here, come on, I've got you," a voice said to Rose. She didn't realise that it belonged to Dave till much later. All she could think of was her disaster of a first kiss. She hadn't even been on a first date yet!

"Are you okay?" he asked. Rose was busy looking at Malfoy but under the pretext of dusting dirt off her robes that she hardly heard him. Finally, when her eyes swivelled around to look at Dave, she noticed that he had one hand behind his back. Did he take something of hers and was waiting for her to guess what it was?

Quick as a flash, she pulled his unsuspecting hand forward, only to see a bouquet of Violets and baby's breath staring at her. Violets were her favourite type of flower which was kind of ironic to most people, they all expected her to worship roses.

"For, for me?" she asked in disbelief. Never in her seventeen years had anybody given her flowers before.

"Er, yeah." Dave mumbled, "I saw you were kind of upset about something today which is rare cause you're hardly anything but happy and I was thinking of some way to cheer you up so... there."

"Why th-thanks, Dave", Rose stammered. She felt awful about how she left Dave waiting along the streets the entire time he was thinking of how to cheer her up. She even tried using him! Overcome with guilt, she was determined to express her gratitude of having such a wonderful friend. Before she realised what she was doing, she had trapped Dave in tight hug, and given him another peck on the cheek. What was with the kisses today?

She broke apart abruptly, her ears turning red just like her father's always did when he was embarrassed. Thank goodness there was her hair to hide it. She turned around for something to do and found the scorpions still fussing over Scorpius, who seemed to have sprained his wrist.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she approached the trio.

Scorpius looked up from examining his swollen wrist, turned to look in her direction and narrowed his eyes as he saw the flowers in her hand.

"with a big lump of fat like you landing on me, I'm lucky that all I got out of it was a sprained wrist." he sneered, his face contorted into a look of deepest hatred.

Rose's hand was outstretched to examine his wrist but recoiled, as if scalded, upon hearing his words.

"Exactly, weasel," the wannabe blonde shrieked," haven't you learnt how to keep away from our Scorpius by now? This whole scheme to get close to him, oh how perfect. It's like you're a toad lusting after the unattainable-"

"Enough, Joceline." Scorpius interjected. The blonde fell silent instantly. "Lets go."

Rose's head was reeling but she still followed Scorpius' silhouette. She didn't think she could stand another insult thrown her way if she opposed him now. She could feel her vision blurring and blinked repeatedly to get rid of the tears which were threatening to fall. Suddenly, there was an arm around her shoulder. She looked up quickly, not daring to believe, and saw Dave's concerned face staring down at hers. Her heart sank. She thought it was... But of course it couldn't be. He wouldn't...

Rose managed to give Dave a weak smile before turning away. He seemed to understand, as he patted her head and gave her shoulder a squeeze before letting go of her, signalling to her that he would be there if she needed comfort.

The look on Scorpius' face replayed itself in Rose's mind. She couldn't understand why was it that there was such a big change in him. Was he offended with the kiss? She didn't mean for it to happen and did he have to look at her as though he despised her so much for it?

Then there was Dave to worry about. She was so selfish, so manipulative. All she thought of was using Dave. What sort of friend did that? She didn't think she quantified as being a friend to him anymore. Not after how she tried to play with his feelings.

* * *

><p>The five of them trudged up the stair to the entrance hall before going their separate ways. Rose trailed meekly after Scorpius to the Hospital Wing to get his hand fixed up, then followed him back to their room, making sure she was extra careful not to bump into anything the whole way. She had to work up her courage for later.<p>

"I'm sorry," she said, looking at the ground, as soon as they entered their room. "I'm sorry for bringing Dave and I'm sorry for the kiss. I mean, I didn't expect that boy to shove me and I didn't realise you would be in front and there were so many people and I'm babbling but I just want to tell you that I'm sorry for well, that. Also, for your wrist."

"Forget it. I don't think you'd understand how sickening this is. It's because of you that I'm stuck like this. I can't play quidditch, I can't sleep in peace, I can't concentrate in lessons, I don't have privacy at all, Weasley! You think I'm enjoying this? The least you could give me was a say as to who I had to spend my time with instead of forcing it down my throat. Has it ever occurred to you that the world doesn't revolve around your airy fairy life?"

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I never wanted to you to be stuck with me, I'm really sorry but there's nothing I can do, you know that don't you? I'm trying to get us out of this mess, trust me please."

She chanced a glance at Scorpius who seemed to have loosened most of the tension in his shoulders since they entered. He sighed and nodded his head, clutching his nose bridge. Rose visibly relaxed.

"Where are your flowers?" he questioned sharply.

"My flo- oh crap, where did I leave them?" she cried, turning around and surveying the sitting room. "think Rose, think!" she hit her head a few times. "oh no. I don't know. I feel so awful. Dave bought them to cheer me up and I lost it, what sort of a friend am I? Could this day get any worse? Violets were my favourite too..." she sat on the couch dejectedly, covering her face with her hands.

"Just to cheer you up?" Scorpius asked, blankly. Rose nodded but still didn't look up.

"well you're in luck, missy."

Curious, she looked up and saw about fifty violets in front of her, held out by Scorpius who had a funny look on his face. He sat down beside her. I guess I'm forgiven, she thought.

Very slowly, he took a stalk and tucked it behind her ear. His eyes never left her face the entire time.

Is this it? She wondered. Is this the moment, like in all those muggle movies? Will he kiss me?

Scorpius leant closer to her.

"Virose. Violet and Rose. Virus. HA!" he exclaimed suddenly, shocking her.

He stood up and entered the room, shaking his head as he left Rose beside empty space until he tugged at the vine from merlin knows where he was and she was forced to move.


	8. Chocolate

**So I obviously have no good excuse years. But I've written like. Five chapters so far. I put this off for so long, coming back here seemed daunting but I hope I did it ok. Missed out a fair few details here and there but to be honest, I am not going back to change it. Coming back here is great and one of the best decisions I've made since entering College (which sucked the life out of me). I love writing and I've only just remembered how much I love it. I hope you like reading it too.**

Rose spent the rest of the day in a daze, wondering exactly what was going on. She spent Sunday in a daze too. Usually, writing down her thoughts helped to sort things out but seeing as how she was perpetually with the person she wanted to write about, she couldn't. And obviously, her brain was too slow to process anything either, she thought, sighing in defeat.

All too soon, it was Monday again. Rose was rolling around in her bed, awake because Malfoy was making far too much noise in the shower but also cause they had class soon. She had been able to wave off Malfoy's weird looks at her the entire day but to her horror; he sat down on her bed last night and actually attempted to have an actual conversation with her, asking her what was wrong. She simply gulped at him, and said that she was tired.

'I must have looked like some fat fish out of the water', she contemplated, on hindsight. She pulled a pillow over her face and screamed internally. She was so confused and all alone, so very alone. What was privacy even like?

"WEASEL! UP! TIME TO GO!" Malfoy hollered from somewhere near the closet. She screamed an unintelligible sound and stormed into the shower.

* * *

><p>Scorpius knew something was wrong. It wasn't like Rose to keep quiet so much. He had been glancing at her so often over the past two days, he had almost memorized every freckle on her face, the way her brown eyes had some weird glassy feel. He couldn't understand what was going on.<p>

'It was ever since that bullshit excuse of a kiss', he finally realized last night and attempted to confront Rose. But she brushed him aside.

He had never felt so _ignored _by a girl in his entire life. He spent much of their first Transfiguration lesson pondering the number of girls who had ignored him before and came up to a grand total of zero, minus the airhead sitting beside him. He didn't mean to be rude, (how rare of him to think so), but her head was _literally_ in space.

Usually she just acted this way in class but now, it was everywhere. Was she getting sick of him? Did she somehow get interested in Dave over the weekend? He wondered, during lunch. And somehow, that assumption induced a mild terror in his mind.

Before thinking and analyzing why he even felt this way, he acted as all guys would – to try and solve the problem. He was determined that Rose would return to her usual self. He would take it upon himself to do so.

He had no idea why this was so important to him, but it just felt like the right thing to do.

* * *

><p>"Here you go", a familiar voice said, as a plate appeared in front of her. She looked at the mound of brown stuff and smelt a whiff of chocolate. She turned to her left and saw Scorpius staring expectantly at her. Somehow his army of Scorpions were missing today. Her friends had all gone for Quidditch practice or to the library so it was just the two of them at today.<p>

It was dinner time on Monday and she had finally resigned to herself that she had no idea, not a freaking clue how she felt about Malfoy. The kiss was just… weird. Not that she hadn't imagined kissing him before over the past few days, 'shut up Rose, you are not admitting that even to yourself', but the Hogsmeade event, as she had come to describe it, just felt… weird.

And now here in front of her, a peace offering, she believed, as her mind drifted back to the chocolaty scent which she realized was a cake. Her weakness was dessert, she thought, as she picked up a fork and tentatively poked the thing, scooping it up and watched a flow of black liquid pour out the cake.

"Molten chocolate cake!" Rose squealed as she shoved the forkful into her mouth. The liquid burned her tongue and she was left fanning her open mouth hurriedly. Scorpius snorted, no doubt at the sight of her unglamorous behavior, but what was new? Tomorrow they'd have officially been stuck together for a week. Literally 24/7. He was supposed to be used to seeing her in her unruly state. The Scorpions never failed to point out everything she did wrongly so she had no doubt that Scorpius would know everything bad about her by now.

"How did you know this was my favourite?" She asked, looking at Scorpius, with a mouthful of chocolate in her mouth. No doubt her teeth were stained brown to no end, she realized belatedly, and tried to turn her head away from him.

How did he know? Molten chocolate cake had always been her favourite. She insisted on having it every year during any special occasion, and always snuck off to the kitchens to request some from the elves whenever she got back her test or exam results which were ALWAYS less than desirable. It wasn't that she didn't try, she just couldn't understand what the Professors wanted no matter how much they explained to her. She scooped another mouthful and closed her eyes in bliss, savouring the taste of the dessert.

"I. I- Guessed." Scorpius spat out the words, like it took him a lot of effort to admit it. He glared at her, as if daring her to ask why he even said it the way he did.

She decided to let it go. His glare wasn't even intimidating; it actually looked rather cute. "Well, thanks," she replied shyly, glancing sideways at him before returning her focus to her cake, sighing in delight every time she tasted the sweet, delicious dish that was in front of her. The Hogwarts kitchens really had a legendary molten chocolate cake. She took her last bite and pouted to herself in dismay as she looked at the now empty plate. She would lick up every last bit of chocolate if Scorpius wasn't sitting beside her, and was he scrutinizing her every move?!

She turned her head abruptly and was faced with Scorpius openly staring at her with an expression she couldn't identify.

He immediately turned a slight pink in the cheeks and widened his eyes in shock before regaining his composure and snarled, "That took you long enough. Can we bloody go now and quickly too? Heaven knows you need the exercise."

It was like being punched in the gut, she felt as a knot formed in her stomach. Why was he always so confusing and… hurtful? The small voice in her head echoed the last word. Hurtful indeed.


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm currently overseas! So... I will be slower in writing the next few chapters :( but that is still far away so no worries!**

**Hope you enjoy this next chapter (which I doubt).**

**Anyway I'd like to address the issue of making Rose er, fat. I felt that there is not much emphasis on how girls will feel, being called such derogatory names and I just wanted to bring it across that people are still very rude and insensitive. Perhaps it may not be the case where you come from, but in my country, it is really common to insult girls... And I wanted to highlight that no matter how much of a brave front a person puts up, he/she will still feel hurt. I mean no offence to anyone reading this.**

**Please review, I do love reading what you have to say!**

There was a commotion in the school on Thursday.

Scorpius knew this as soon as two of his Scorpions appeared outside his door that morning, hissing furiously to each other. He cocked a questioning eyebrow at them while he waited for the perpetually late Rose outside their room.

"There's a new girl.." Josceline started before the other cut her off.

"Just transferred here," the other Scorpion said.

"So have you," Scorpius replied icily, eyeing the tanned, slightly plump girl who had small eyes and a very large mouth.

The Scorpion looked taken aback, "I've.. I've been here for months." She stammered. "I'm Laurain." She added meekly. Scorpius took a second look at her wide mouth. "Yeah, whatever." He turned his head to look back into the sitting room and shouted, "OY WEASEL GET GOING!"

"I'M GOING I'M GOING!" A mop of flaming red hair flashed by as she barreled past him. She had run off quite a distance, he was surprised to see, before his hand was yanked as he was pulled after her. She never looked back and continued running as if for her life, knocking people to the side, as per her usual clumsy self.

Scorpius smiled slightly as he watched the red haired figure in front of him shove people aside as he ran after her. He had no doubt that this was her revenge for his chiding her earlier. He could almost hear her thinking "You wanted me to hurry, didn't you? WELL YOU GOT HURRY, PERSONIFIED!" He could easily catch up with her, he thought as he jogged along at an easy pace, but he was contented to just be led around by her. Her mood had improved drastically since the chocolate cake and he was content to keep it as such. People were keeping a wide berth from them nowadays, mostly out of fear of tripping over the vine so it was fine, the coast had cleared considerably for him after her noisy entrance. His Scorpions had vanished into the crowd, which reformed behind them.

She finally stopped outside their classroom, panting slightly, her face flushed as she glared at how easily he caught up with her. He smirked at her, just because he could, and she poked out her tongue and then made a face at him before storming into the classroom.

He let a small smile play across his face. She was always such a breath of fresh air, with her crazy antics that he would never expect and how she never felt the need to act all prim and proper around him, much less worship him. Take the run for example, he wouldn't have expected her to make him run across half the castle, but doing something unexpected like that was just _so her_.

He took his seat beside her, at the back of the classroom (because she liked it). They had a competition a few days ago, on where to sit. He preferred the front while she, the back. The competition basis? Rock paper scissors. She had won but graciously agreed to alternate seating arrangements to suit him half the time. He recalled the memory fondly, as she made a big show of acting like she was royalty and granting him his heart's desire to sit in the front. "Like the teacher's pet", she had said pompously.

The class started buzzing all of a sudden. He rose from his stupor and saw that a stunning mop of blonde hair, a full chest and long slender legs had entered the classroom. His mouth gaped open. The blonde turned to survey the classroom and he saw her blue eyes, straight, defined nose bridge and high cheekbones. Her eyes scanned the class and landed on his, looking at him for just a tad too long. His eyebrows rose appreciatively at the sight in front, as she turned away and sat down in the middle of the class.

"Dumb plastic Barbie", the voice beside him muttered. He had no clue what a Barbie was, but was also very sure that it wasn't exactly a compliment for the new girl. "Envious, are you?" he whispered into her ear.

She shivered and positively recoiled from the close proximity, her ears turning beet red as she faced him, with a furious look on her face. The combination of her face and ears made her look positively comical. 'I will never get tired of seeing her ears turn red, it's just so odd', he thought, laughing internally.

"I. Am. Not." She said through gritted teeth. "In fact, I will show you how un-envious I am. I am going to talk to her after this." She then sat with her arms crossed over her chest and stewed like a storm in a teacup for the rest of the lesson.

* * *

><p>Oh she was envious. Of course she was. Any idiot could see that she was envious, hell, any idiot would be envious of the new girl! With her beautiful, long silky blonde hair and her slim physique, why wouldn't she be envious?<p>

But she realised, that the thing that affected her most was how Scorpius' eyes opened wider and his eyebrows rose at the sight of the new girl. He didn't think she'd notice but she did. Rose wished that someone would ever look at her that way, then realised with a start that she actually wished it was Scorpius who would look at her that way. And the way he whispered in her ear… she wasn't expecting it but what would she give for him to do that again. A dreamy smile played across her lips.

But why oh why did she open her big mouth and said she would go talk to the new girl when all she wanted was to stay as far away as possible from her? And also… to have Scorpius stay away from the girl, she thought, before she pushed that selfish and random notion out of her mind.

But too late, the bell had rung and she was left with no choice. She looked at Scorpius who wiggled his eyebrows at Rose and cocked his head towards the new girl, goading Rose on.

She really had no choice. Her feet seemed as though they were made of lead. 'What would happen if I introduced the both of them? Would Scorpius like her? What if he does?' She thought. The idea of Scorpius falling for someone affected her far more than it should have but it was already too late to turn back. She could feel him behind her, inspecting her every move. Rose took in a deep breath and tapped the girl's shoulder, while she was rummaging through her bag.

"Hi," Rose squeaked, "I'm Rose. Are you new here?"

"Oh hello," the new girl said, breaking into a small smile. "Yeah, yes I am actually. I'm Jennifer, but people just call me Jen for short." Jen looked over at Scorpius, and then smiled wider. "You must be the famous Scorpius Malfoy", she said, imitating his signature drawl. "Want to go for lunch?" She asked, looking pointedly at him.

Rose was so ready to smash Barbie Jen's head into the wall and destroy her pretty face.


	10. Chapter 10

**Been taking awhile because... I started on a new fic. I haven't published it but I am intending to, right after I publish this chapter. The story was just begging for me to write it and it is a Hunger Games fanfic, so if there are any fans out there... I'd be delighted if you could read it! The response to the previous chapter demoralised me quite a fair bit but it's ok, I will try to improve! Hope to hear your thoughts about this chapter, please review!**

Tension. That was how he would describe lunch earlier that day, Scorpius thought as he lay down on his bed that night and recounted the events of the day. It was so much to process in one day that he didn't know what to think.

He said yes to Jen to lunch because of the way Rose was glaring at her. He wanted to see how much he could egg Rose on, he'd never seen her like that before. Jen was good looking, yes, but when he looked at her and saw the way she talked to him, he couldn't get past how she reminded him of the same kind of girls that kept advancing on him throughout the years. Honestly, he was _bored_. He was bored out of his mind by them but they made him who he was today, gave him the status that others so desperately coveted and he never forgot that. And so, if he was really honest with himself, he kept them around and entertained most of them just in case he needed favours somewhere, somehow in the future. But the past two weeks, he had been less attentive to them, he knew it and they were undoubtedly angry though they vented all their frustrations on the appearance of Rose in his life, attributing his foul mood towards them as a result of "continued exposure to the lower class", which was their conclusion.

The three of them made their way to the Great Hall, and all too soon, five Scorpions joined Scorpius this time, all hissing vehemently at the appearance of Jen. They sat down at the Gryffindor table today. To his side was Rose, and he could practically feel the waves of annoyance or anger or whatever it was resonate off her. She was joined shortly by her male friends too, all who had come to see Jen instead of her, which made Rose all the more furious. He could practically sense her anger. Scorpius was surprised nobody noticed how affronted she was, and how she was stabbing her piece of chicken with extra vigour today. He engaged in idle talk again with Jen who was trying really hard to gain his attention as he looked away from Rose, back to Jen. She was apparently a transfer from Beauxbatons but didn't have the signature French accent because her parents were English. She transferred here because a family member of hers was sickly and the whole family had wanted to be near in case anything happened. Rose's friends were just staring and clinging onto every word Jen said. One of the Gryffindor guys, Daniel or something, repeatedly missed connecting his food with his mouth; he was staring so intently at Jen.

"So Scorpius, I was just saying, I heard like you're really good in.. all your subjects?" Jen laughed, flinging her blonde hair away from her to expose her neck. Scorpius swore he heard a collective hiss from his Scorpions as well as sighs from the Gryffindor guys simultaneously. "What are you taking again?" She asked, fixing her blue eyes on him. "Er, Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, and Charms."

"Oh that is almost the same as me!" Jen squealed, while out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rose pretend to vomit onto her plate. This did not go unnoticed by Jen though, who shot a glare at Rose before returning her gaze on Scorpius, a look of determination on Jen's face.

'Damn', Scorpius thought, as he looked at Jen's face, he could guess what that determination was about and had a feeling it was something to do with him and Rose. The rest of the meal passed by, with him wondering what could Jen possibly do, and positively jumped out of his seat when he felt something slide up his leg. Everyone turned to look at him but he pretended it was nothing. After awhile when everyone dismissed his actions, he looked under the table to see exactly what happened. Then he saw it again, Jen's foot was snaking across the table and stroked the length of his calf. He looked up at Jen, mortified. No girl had played freaking footsie with him before. She raised a finger to her lips, said "sshhh" and winked at him.

He didn't know what to think. The stabbing of the already dead, poor chicken, continued at a furious pace beside him.

* * *

><p>And that was probably the highlight of the day, Scorpius thought. Dinner was uneventful because he had specifically made all his Scorpions surround him, so Jen was there, but not in direct contact with him. He really wanted to avoid Jen from now on, he wasn't used to being played and he was sure he was about to be, if he hung around her any longer. Rose was in a considerably brighter mood in the room without Jen around. It was just the both of them in the room as usual. He specifically denied entry to anybody unless they both reached a mutual consensus after Rose flew into a rage and transfigured one of his Scorpions into a cat when she came into the room one morning and yowled away about how they needed to get up early as they had a full day of activities to carry out on Tuesday. So because none of them ever reached a consensus about who could enter the room or not, it ended up being only the two of them since Tuesday.<p>

He was transported back to reality by a noise coming from the bathroom. Rose was singing, he thought, bewildered. This was the first time he ever heard her sing. Or.. was this the first time he paid enough attention?

He strained to hear the words.

"Pain throws your heart to the ground,

Love turns the whole thing around.

No, it won't all go the way it should,

But I know the heart of life is good."

He had never heard this song before but it seemed like she knew all the words. And then he wasn't listening to the words anymore, just lying on the bed, appreciating the melodious voice coming from the bathroom.

The bathroom door turned and he quickly closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. It seemed too personal a space that she was in, for him to invade consciously.

She started humming once she was in the bedroom, softer, but still on the same song. She really does have a nice voice, he mused. With his eyes closed, he followed the source of her voice and figured that she was putting away her clothes. It was all so peaceful. Suddenly, he heard a loud thump. The humming stopped and was replaced by a string of curses. Rose must have stubbed her toe on one of the furniture in the bedroom again.

He sniggered. That's so typical of my girl, he thought, before drifting to sleep.

* * *

><p>Rose stopped in her tracks and walked over to the bed. She stared at Scorpius' face. She could have sworn she heard a snigger and worse of all, had he heard her sing? She sang so often when she was with her friends, and Al particularly loved singing too but singing in front of Scorpius was a whole different thing, firstly because she never considered him to be a friend in the first place and secondly because he would probably come up with a smart comment to insult her. She really didn't need another reason to be teased for.<p>

She was singing The Heart of Life, by John Mayer. A muggle song, but she liked muggle songs. It reminded her of the beauty that muggles could come up with. This particular song, she had no idea why it popped into her head today. She stared at Scorpius who had already started snoring lightly and she softened. He looked so nice just sleeping; he didn't seem like her enemy for the past few years, and also not as whatever relation they had now which was surprisingly cordial. She looked at his smooth face and wondered how his face felt like. It couldn't hurt right? She thought and before she could stop herself, she reached her hand out and stroked the side of his face. Scorpius' head shifted a little and she pulled back immediately, afraid that he would wake. She jumped into her own bed and peeked at him from under the covers.

She didn't know how long she stared at him for before she fell asleep too.

**Please review, pretty pretty please? It would mean so much to me!**


End file.
